Dirk Willem Hoekstra

Dirk Willem Hoekstra died in Sioux Falls on September 1, 2026. He was 80. Born on July 19, 1946, with Dutch-American roots that shaped the table more than the flag. He learned early that a day is something you finish, not something you wait for. He milked mornings that started in the dark. A milk-test notebook lived in his shirt pocket; cows and creditors both got honest numbers. Colleagues still mention a milk-test notebook in a shirt pocket. He married Anneliese in 1970. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised two sons through public schools and ordinary weather. After Anneliese died in 2019, he kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember quiet help with a stuck mailbox or a heavy trash can. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Sioux Falls, among streets he never needed to explain. The recipe card is still stained in the useful places.